Air Force Officer Acquitted Of Groping Woman At Bar

Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski, who led the Air Force's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response unit, is seen leaving the Arlington County General District Court, in July.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP
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Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski, who led the Air Force's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response unit, is seen leaving the Arlington County General District Court, in July.

Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski, who once oversaw the Air Force's sexual assault response team, was found not guilty of groping a 23-year-old woman at a bar in Virginia earlier this year.

The jury of five men and two women in Arlington, Va., deliberated for an hour and 15 minutes before deciding to acquit Krusinski, 42 on a charge of misdemeanor assault. His accuser had said he grabbed her backside on May 5 outside a Crystal City bar.

"Defense lawyers argued that there were inconsistencies in her story. In particular, the defense [homed] in on the woman's testimony admitting she punched Krusinski a few times in the face in retaliation. Numerous other witnesses, though, described seeing her hit him countless times.

"Prosecutors had urged the jury not to be distracted by what happened after the alleged grope."

Police have said that Krusinski was drunk on the night of the alleged assault.

As NPR's Tom Bowman reported in May when the allegations first came to light, Krusinski "was immediately removed from his position when the Air Force received word" of the accusations.